Theodore Olson, former Solicitor General under President George W. Bush, has signed onto Mississippi lawyer Paul Minor’s appeal to the Supreme Court.

On Tuesday, Olson, of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP, filed a motion for a 60-day extension to file a petition for certiorari. He said more time was necessary because that the “honest services” law, to which Minor’s convictions are tied, is under review by the Supreme Court in three cases this term.

Minor’s convictions on honest-services-based mail and wire fraud charges stem from a major judicial bribery investigation. A well-known plaintiffs lawyer, Minor was accused of making campaign loans to two state judges in return for favorable treatment in his cases before their courts.

The court’s decisions in the three honest services cases under review, Olson wrote, will affect the validity of the Minor’s convictions and his request for relief.

Olson said a Supreme Court review was necessary to answer whether federal prosecutors were required to prove a quid pro quo in Minor’s case because the alleged bribes were in the form of “constitutionally protected campaign contributions.” A federal district court, as well as the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit, found that government need only prove the existence of a “corrupt agreement” under the honest-services statute.

The motion noted that Olson was “retained recently” to prepare the petition. If the court grants the extension, the cert petition would have to be filed by July 26.